


An Interview With the Superboy

by BlueNightingale



Category: Superman - All Media Types, Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-24
Updated: 2012-11-24
Packaged: 2017-11-19 10:05:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/572114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueNightingale/pseuds/BlueNightingale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lois heads to the roof of the Daily Planet, expecting to get an interview with the Man of Steel.  Superboy shows up instead. In the ensuing chaos will Superman be able to minimize the damage, and perhaps manage some long overdue bonding with his son?</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Interview With the Superboy

**Author's Note:**

> Carried over from my fanfiction.net account with a few edits.
> 
> Takes place early in the Young Justice series. Written because it looked like Superboy just needed someone to hug him during all those Mean!Superman scenes.
> 
> Un-betaed - forgive my mistakes. Con-Crit is appreciated.

Lois Lane walked out onto the roof of the Daily Planet. Perry had assigned her yet another Superman interview. Now if only she could find the elusive Man of Steel, she could get on with her job. Glancing around at the surrounding skies revealed a disappointing lack of tri-colored unitards. Lois sighed. This part of her job was so undignified. Straightening her posture and taking in a deep breath Lois bellowed out at the top of her lungs.

"SUPERMAN!"

 

* * *

 

Conner Kent left STAR Labs and slowly headed back to his motorcycle. Batman had sent him out to Metropolis to deliver some special materials to the scientists here. It was the sort of thing that could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands, sensitive enough to warrant a hand delivery by one of the members of their covert team. Conner had been more than happy for a chance to get away from the Mountain for a while. Though he'd been half waiting for Superman to show up the entire time he'd been in town. But the man himself had yet to make an appearance. Conner wasn't quite sure whether he was glad about this fact, or disappointed.

Suddenly the teen wrenched his head around. He stared out into the distance, zeroing in on a voice.

 

* * *

 

Lois waited for a few moments then shouted again.

"SUPERMAN I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"

 

* * *

 

20 floors down Clark Kent looked up from his computer and sighed. He was almost done with this article and the deadline was minutes away. He wasn't in the mood to get a lecture from Perry. Lois could wait. Clark turned back to work, fingers blurring across the keyboard at super speed.

 

* * *

 

Lois decided to wait five more minutes and then give up for the afternoon. Maybe there was an earthquake in Japan, or something.

"SUPERMAN!"

"Why are you yelling so loud?" Came a frustrated voice from behind her. Lois whirled around but saw no one. Superman never skulked around like this. Someone else was up here with her.

"Who's there?" She demanded, scrabbling around in her purse trying vainly to remember where she'd hid her pepper spray.

"Up here."

Lois blinked and looked up. There was someone crouching on top of the Daily Planet globe. The first thing she saw was the giant red "S" on his chest. The sun in her eyes blocked out everything else she tried to make out. A moment later the figure stood up, blocking out the sun for a moment, before he casually leaped down from the globe.

The man landed right in front of her, the sound of his impact resounding out over the rooftop. The cement cracked under his feet where he crouched, before he straightened slowly, his eyes coming level with hers. They were an unearthly shade of blue she would recognize anywhere. Lois felt her jaw drop, and tried to stop herself from gaping like a pedestrian.

The man who stood before her was both younger and shorter than what she was used to. He wore the trademark shield across his chest, but the similarity ended there. The teen possessed a decidedly casual style, sporting combat boots, jeans and a black t-shirt. He leaned forwards to loom over her, his massive form somewhat intimidating.

"…..Superman! What… happened to you?" The look on the kid's face suddenly morphed from angry to indignant.

"I'm not Superman!" He snarled back at her. The dude seriously looked like he was gearing up to burn the place down. Lois judiciously moved back a couple steps, pursing her lips in a frown.

"Okay, Okay! Clearly I was mistaken. It’s not like you two look almost the same, or anything.”  She added sarcastically holding up her arms in supplication to try to calm him down.   

“Well, if it’s not Superman, what do you want me to call you then?"

The teen huffed out a breath and crossed his arms, treating her to a sullen silence. She could work with that. Lois grinned at him and held out her hand.

"I'm Lois Lane, from the Daily Planet. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

The kid stared at her outstretched hand for a moment in contemplation, before meeting her eyes and reluctantly reaching out to return her greeting.

"I have been named Superboy."

Lois felt the breath rush from her lungs. That's not what she had been expecting. Could it be true? How could  _he_  have hidden something like this from her?

"I never knew." She finally managed to whisper, gazing at him with wide eyes. "Superman has a  _son_."

His eyes narrowed at her, betraying his displeasure.

"He  _doesn't_ have a son." He replied with finality.

Okay, that was sort of hard to believe.  Realization dawned and Lois gasped out in surprise, feeling her eyebrows shoot up. Superman had been hiding his son from her all along – and apparently _they weren’t getting along_.  She shook her head.  Family troubles seemed so… human for a family of nigh unstoppable alien crime-fighting machines.  Lois shook her head and tried to hide her smile, reminding herself that regardless of their superhero status they were still just ordinary people.  Sometimes that fact was too easy to forget.

"So what are you doing all the way out here?" She asked, gesturing around the empty roof.  The kid almost growled at her.

"You kept  _shouting._ It was so loud, I heard you all the way from the edge of the city." The kid placed his hands on his hips, arms akimbo, unconsciously mimicking the classic Superman pose. "He has super hearing, you know. You can talk like a normal person, and he'll still hear you." Lois smiled at that – it seemed as if he had been really worried.  He scowled down at her.

"So you came out here to check up on me?" Lois asked, unable to contain an overly fond and affectionate grin.  Superboy glanced at her and shrugged, actually managing to look a little sheepish, now. Lois thought it was adorable.

"Well, you kept shouting out. I thought you might be in trouble." She nodded at him in understanding.

"Your Dad and I have a sort of agreement. I'm his press agent, if you will." She glanced over at the kid once more and tapped her pen against her lips, noticing how he’d tensed up at the word _Dad._

"I came up here to get an interview with him. But you'll do just as nicely." Superboy raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms again, trying not to appear too baffled by her abrupt change of topic.

"What sort of things… do you want to know?"

Lois smirked slyly and glanced at her notebook.

"Let's start simple. Where are you from?"

"Ah," Superboy scratched the back of his head. "I wouldn’t really call that simple. You see…"

 

* * *

 

Clark jerked away from the printer, recognizing a familiar voice coming from the roof. He glanced up through the floors, glasses slipping down his nose. Sure enough, there stood Superboy, his one and only clone. The boy was both a gift and a curse, one that Clark was still struggling to accept in his life. Sadly, his struggles had all been failures recently, and he had disappointed his clone as a result.

Well, it was never too late to change. It looked like his boy was about to get himself into a world of trouble. Clark smirked. It seemed as if Lois managed to attract him to her side no matter what age or form he occupied. He lowered his voice into the unmistakable register of Superman, and called out gently to his son.

"Stop, Superboy!"

20 floors up Conner jumped in surprise. He turned his gaze downwards, searching. Through the many layers of people, concrete and wiring their eyes met. Conner recognized Superman instantly.

"You're part of a covert team, Superboy. Giving an interview means you're about to out yourself to the world. Then my enemies will become your enemies, and nothing you do will be secret. I don't want that for you. Give me a moment, and I'll come up there and talk with her myself."

Conner glared down at him, staying frozen for a long moment, before finally nodding in acceptance. Clark heaved a sigh of relief. His son followed his progress as he made his way across the bullpen, heading for the elevators. Halfway there, Perry poked his head out from his office.

"Hey Kent! Nice job on that Luthor interview. LexCorp will never see it coming. It you keep this up Clark, I might just have to send you out to Taipei." All Clark managed in return was a weak nod as he waved him off and continued on his way.

 

* * *

 

Conner watched amazement as the man bumbled his way through the crowded space, knocking into various people along the way. A trail of annoyed and exasperated shouts followed in the hero's wake.  Conner had always assumed Superman lived in the Justice League’s space station – ever watchful of the Earth.  But did the man actually work here? Did they both lead the same kind of life, one of heroism and one of secret normality?  Did his father also possess a secret identity known as… Clark Kent? 

Conner felt his face scrunch in horrifying realization.

He had been named after his father.

The truth hit him like a lead brick – bringing about a prickling of tears in both joy and frustration.

The man in question finally made it to the elevators, shedding his suit in the blink of an eye moments after the doors closed. The iconic superhero stood proudly, meeting his eyes once more. Then he slowly floated up, through the escape hatch and up the shaft.

"Superboy?" Conner blinked and looked back to Lois.

"You were spaced out there for a moment. So… tell me again, where exactly do you come from?" He stared at her blankly.

"He's coming."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Who's coming?"

Superboy looked away across the Metropolis skyline. "Superman."

He turned back to her again, and Lois was transfixed by his ultra-blue eyes.  They really were alike.

"Have you ever heard of someone called Clark Kent?" Lois snorted at that, resting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah." She groused, giving him a look. "He's my partner at the Planet. Are you trying to say you'd rather have  _him_  do this interview?" Superboy shot her a wide eyed look and shook his head.

"Er, no. I'm just curious. What's he like?" Lois stared at him for a moment, then glanced heavenwards with a sigh.

"You want to know about Clark." She said flatly. "I'll tell you all you need to know. He's a country bumpkin from Hicksville - A farm boy in attitude, with the manners to prove it. Despite all of this, he's not a total push over. In fact, he manages to keep up with me most of the time. I suppose that means he's actually pretty tough."

Superboy frowned.

"A farm… boy?" Not really what he was expecting.

"Lois." Superman's distinctive voice cut through the silence. The reporter flinched and looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, there was the Man of Steel hovering just off the roof edge. The hero glanced from her to Superboy, before gently coming down to land beside them.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I heard you asking for an interview." Superboy snorted at that, glancing at Superman before sullenly looking down. Lois nodded quickly and blushed.

"Next time I'll try not to be so, uh, loud." Superman smiled kindly.

"Lois, I'd like to ask that you keep Superboy out of the newspapers. I'm not yet ready for my… _son_ to be so widely known."

Lois looked surprised at his request.

"Your son?" She asked, "I know you two look similar but I didn’t think… Superboy just said he wasn't!”  Lois tried desperately and failed to hide the hurt from her voice.  “How could you have hidden this for so long?”  _From me._ The unvoiced accusation hung heavy in the air.

Superman blinked at that, appearing rather taken aback. He glanced over at Superboy in question. The kid glared back. Lois half expected his heat vision to kick in and reduce the other man to ash. Superman's gaze turned gentle.  All those words he had come to regret – it was time to fix them now.

"He might have come around in an unconventional manner, and I've had… some trouble accepting that." Superman straightened up and turned back to Lois, he voice deep and strong. "But it doesn't change the fact that he is still my son.  He’s got… a lot to learn, but I’m proud of him."

A startled cry came from Superboy, involuntarily wrenched from his throat. Conner clenched his fists and whispered a soft "Dad."  He had been waiting so long to hear those words from his father.

Only super hearing could pick it up. Their gazes met and held for a long moment, before Superman smiled at him softly and nodded.

"You'd best be going now, son. I'll handle it from here."  He paused a moment and added hesitantly “We’ll talk… later.”

Superboy grinned at him. The expression lit up his whole face.

"Right, I'll be heading out. Bye Dad." He nodded to the reporter. "Lois."

Then he crouched down and jumped from the roof, sailing straight up into the air. Lois tried to follow him with her eyes, almost losing him in the sun for a moment, before spotting him again landing on the roof of a building a block away. He leaped again and disappeared from sight. Lois stared after him in amazement, Superman beside her.

"Well," she managed at last. "He wasn't what I was expecting."

Superman looked down at her in surprise. After a moment he grinned at her merrily, coming to his own conclusions about his son.

"I think you're right, Lois."

 


End file.
